The University of Florida president Bernie Machen, who is also the chairman of SEC leaders, center, and Texas A&M president R. Bowen Loftin pose for a picture as Texas A&M officially enters the SEC, Monday, Sept. 26, 2011, in Kyle Field in College Station. ( Nick de la Torre / Houston Chronicle )

COLLEGE STATION - Texas A&M, en route to the Southeastern Conference, is proud of its showing in most Big 12 sports over the past decade. Following the official declaration of the Aggies' Big 12 financial settlement this week, A&M athletic director Bill Byrne pointed to his department's "building champions" motto and cited the school's Big 12-leading 36 conference championship trophies over the past six years.

Well and good, but things would be well and better for A&M if it built a champion in the sport most Aggies care most about - and some care only about. The one paying the bills for most of the other championship sports.

The topic arises because A&M announced a hike in season-ticket prices this week for football, the most underachieving sport on campus. The sport that sold out of season tickets for the first time in history last year, primarily based on a boon from the Aggies' impending move to the mighty league that's won the last six national football titles.

Moving's expensive

The SEC truly does come with a price, and A&M certainly isn't taking recent past performance into consideration - including last year's 7-6 mark under then-coach Mike Sherman and a 64-60 record over the last decade under three different coaches.

"There are a variety of challenges on and off the field awaiting us in the SEC, and we're ready to take them on," Byrne wrote Wednesday in his weekly online address. "Our pricing model is a partial reflection of some of those challenges."

Byrne has done an exceptional job in elevating non-revenue sports to prominence at A&M. The Aggies have the best track and field team in the nation, for instance, and last Saturday about 2,500 fans on the A&M campus watched the Aggies sweep the men's and women's Big 12 indoor titles. Compare that to any given fall Saturday in College Station, however, when about 87,000 loyalists yell for the Aggies at Kyle Field.

A&M won a lone league football title and played in one Bowl Championship Series game in its 16-year run in the Big 12, and those achievements occurred four years before Byrne arrived on campus in late 2002. Regardless, A&M is asking its impassioned fans to dig deep for the SEC.

More for less

Season-ticket packages are $50 more in each non-student seating section - bench, armchair, and club and suite level seating - despite one fewer home game this season. Take the prevalent bench seating, for instance. It's $450 for six games, compared to $400 for seven games last season.

"Demand is very strong for season tickets," Byrne contended. "Our waiting list is 4,500 tickets strong. We also have the largest student section in all of college football in excess of 30,000 seats. We won't be reducing the student-ticket allotment, but we do rely on full-price season-ticket sales to help us keep this tradition in place."

A&M hasn't done first-year coach Kevin Sumlin any favors, outside of hiring him from Houston. Since Sumlin arrived in December, A&M has shifted from a season opener at home against McNeese State to a road game against Louisiana Tech, the WAC champion returning a bunch of starters, and now has hiked ticket prices - always understandably increasing fans' expectations for a winning season. Perhaps even a championship.

"We are not only representing A&M; we're representing the entire state of Texas," reads a money pitch on the 12th Man Foundation's website.

Translation: Reach deep. The Aggies hope to represent well in the SEC.

The No. 23 Aggies play host to BYU at 6 p.m. Thursday and to South Florida at 6 p.m. Friday in the George P. Mitchell Tennis Center. The Aggies (6-1) have won six consecutive matches under first-year coach Howard Joffe and own their highest ranking since 2007.

Junior Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar is ranked fourth nationally in singles, the highest ranking ever for an A&M women's player. A&M is 1-12 all-time against BYU and 5-2 vs. South Florida.

Softball

The Aggies play host this weekend to the Texas A&M Invitational, which includes Houston, Texas State and Nebraska. No. 21 A&M (10-6) takes on Nebraska at 3 p.m. Friday on the first day of the tournament, which runs through Sunday.

Baseball

The No. 5 Aggies host Michigan State in a three-game non-conference series starting Friday. A&M (8-1) is coming off a two-game sweep of Northwestern (La.) State.